SANTA CLARA (KRON) – The San Francisco 49ers announced Monday Nick Mullens will be the No. 2 quarterback to starter Jimmy Garoppolo in the 2019-20 season.
Mullens told the media head coach Kyle Shanahan gave him the news he beat out C.J. Beathard for the backup quarterback position, three days earlier.
Moments later from hearing the good news, Mullens’ wife, Haleigh, gave birth to their first child, Luke.
Mullens said, “Pretty cool week, very thankful.”
When asked how the competition made him better Mullens explained, “You always hold yourself to a high standard, but at the same time you have the guy to your left vying for the same job. So, your standard has to be that much higher.” Mullens added, “Every rep, every throw, every decision is all on tape, it’s all being evaluated … you just have to have a consistent mind set and we both got a lot better through it.”
Beathard tells Eric Branch from the San Francisco Chronicle, he was prepared for anything.
“I know the nature of the business and how it goes,” Beathard said.
When looking at either Beathard or Mullens stats during the preseason, the numbers were nearly the same.
Beathard finished the preseason with a 94.4 pass rating, while Mullens completed the preseason with 91.1.
The 49ers will head into the 2019 season with three quarterbacks.